Exercise Associated Muscle Cramping (EAMC) Sources: Clinics in Sport Medicine Have you ever experienced a muscle cramp whilst doing your long run? Want to know why it happens? How to prevent it? Read on... - What brings this about? Exercise associated muscle cramping (EAMC) is defined as a painful, spasmodic, and involuntary contraction of skeletal muscle that occurs during or immediately after exercise. The most scientifically based hypothesis for Exercise Associated Muscle Cramping (EAMC) is the “muscle fatigue hypothesis” of Prof Martin Schwellnus and colleagues from the Sports Science Institute of South Africa. -What causes premature muscle fatigue and EAMC? According to a study by Manjra and colleagues of over 1300 marathon runners in 1996, certain risk factors for EAMC were identified that included: • older age, • longer history of running, • higher body mass index, • shorter daily stretching time, • irregular stretching habits, • and a positive family history ...